President Office — Press Release

Florida voters can require two-thirds vote of both the House and Senate to raise taxes

Tallahassee —

The Florida Senate today passed HJR 7001, Supermajority Vote for State Taxes or Fees. The legislation proposes an amendment to Florida’s Constitution to require that a state tax or fee imposed, authorized, or raised by the Legislature, be approved by two-thirds of the membership of each house of the Legislature.

“Florida families plan their budgets carefully to make every dollar count and the Legislature exercises the same attentiveness when appropriating the tax dollars Floridians send us,” said Senate President Joe Negron (R-Stuart). “Just like Florida families, state government should live within its means.”

“When families across Florida have to find a way to pay for medical bills, braces, a new car, or a broken appliance, they have to sacrifice either by cutting expenses or increasing revenues by working extra hours, or taking on a second job,” said Senator Kelli Stargel (R-Lakeland), Chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Finance and Tax, who presented HJR 7001 on the Senate floor. “State government should be just as diligent with determining when to make cuts and when to increase revenues. This important legislation gives voters a chance to make it harder for the Legislature to raise state taxes and fees.”

The amendment proposed in HJR 7001 will take effect on January 8, 2019, if approved by sixty percent of the voters.